 The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared Chukomar Soludo winner of the Annambar State Governorship Elections after a supplementary election was conducted yesterday. The rubble that the Koi building collapsed has almost been completely evacuated. The families of the victims were almost seen hanging around. The venue are still hoping for miracles as rescuers continue the search. And of course this morning we will be reviewing the major stories making headlines across the papers this morning with Tunde Kolaouale. It's a beautiful Wednesday morning and we're glad to have you join us on the breakfast on Plasti via Africa. It feels really great to be back again. Yes, I did. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. It's Plasti via Africa here on the breakfast and we hope that you of course enjoy the next two hours with us of very interesting conversations. As always we're going to be going back to Annambar State this morning to of course have a quick review and discussion concerning the elections. Chukomar Soludo has officially been declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission. And of course from Annambar we're back here in Lagos where we will be looking at the certain rescue efforts at the Koi building collapsed. This is some of the conversations that we have this morning amongst other things. Good morning and welcome. As always we start with some of the top trending stories, the big stories that have made conversations across Nigeria in the last 24 hours. The first one of course is the International Assembly where the Senate has gone ahead to approve electronic transmission of results. In a declaration yesterday they said that they've given INEC, the electoral body, to go ahead to determine how election results will be transmitted either manually or electronically. If you remember this has created a lot of controversy and conversations in the last couple of months actually across the country. With the NCC initially being brought into the conversation where the National Assembly had said that the NCC should give approval somehow some way and clarify with regards network coverage on every area across the country where there should be elections Nigerians of course completely were against that and said that no, it has to be the Independent National Electoral Commission that is what the constitution says and that is what the electoral law says and that's it should be either determining how to transmit results electronically. And so yesterday they went ahead to give a go ahead with that. I think it's good news. I think it's something that the Nigerian electorate should be happy about with regards taking further steps and building our electoral process and ensuring that we have a seemingly smoother electoral process in 2023. That's for me what it seems like. And I think everyone should of course hear this story and say yes. The Nigerian people have won with regards to this conversation. So one of the things that I've been trying to understand with the electronic pronunciation of the result is it's not going to be an electronic voting? I think it's still a part of that conversation. They may not be able to achieve electronic voting yet but it's also left to INEC to determine if they can get that organized before 2023. I don't think they can because if you look at what happened in Anambra, Anambra basically is almost like a litmus test and they've continued to say differences at litmus tests, at those state was a litmus test or shoe state was a litmus test and now Anambra won one more state again at a litmus test with regards 2023. And seeing how BVAS which was just introduced had so many issues. Elections were meant to be held on Saturday. We eventually carried elections all through the weekend all till Tuesday and they still could not even call out the results or declare a winner early on Tuesday. They waited till late at night. I think it was maybe past midnight or around midnight before they finally declared Chukumasoludo winner of the elections. And so all those hitches and all those many, many speed bumps here and there, potholes if you will call them, show that they still have a lot of work that they need to do with regards to process and I don't think they will be able to achieve electronic voting. So for me I just think we're jumping the gun. That's my opinion because I have been thinking and that's why I needed to understand if we're going to have electronic voting because it would really make sense if there's electronic voting and electronic transmission of results. So how do we now explain? Now the argument and those who are proposing this as much as yes is really okay to introduce this. This is going to help deepen our democracy. It's going to help strengthen the electoral process. The point now here is we cannot, we cannot categorically say that fraud would actually be eliminated entirely. So having electronic results, I mean having results transmitted electronically is not a guarantee that fraud would be eliminated entirely from the system because you will still have to vote manually and then have to transmit the result electronically. So I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. I think what it helps with is we are coming from a place where there used to be incidents of ballot box smashing and some of all of that. And so it basically helps people to understand that once they vote, the votes from their polling units and all of that can be transmitted electronically. You don't need to wait for an electoral officer to take results written on a sheet of paper to INAG office. And so it makes the process easier. No, I totally understand the fact that it will make the process easier. My point is for those who are saying it would actually eliminate fraud, it would not entirely eliminate fraud. It does help. It may not entirely. It would just strengthen the entire process but it would not eliminate because like I mentioned earlier on, if we have to cast our votes manually and then transmit the result electronically within that particular process, a lot's going to happen. That's also not going to stop the issue of vote buying as well. I mean, all the issues also. So but we just know that hey, we're heading somewhere. It would hasten the process. For instance, you know, secolation of result. It would actually save time, save cost. I mean, because all of the spending of monies and all of the time, we will probably have to announce the result. But also there's several factors we also need to consider, which is a major issue. Service providers. The issue of network is also, you know, on top of the list. I also have a problem that since we introduced, you know, the smart card readers in 2015, we haven't really, you know, sit back to even ensure that we don't have the same mistakes, especially with the introduction of the beavers. Now we're hoping that maybe in 2023 we'll go to have the beavers introduced and what are we doing? Did we have a test run and all of that? Now in this election, one would have actually expected that which probably would have had, you know, the Anambra election, which is the closest election, probably have a test run of transmission, electronic transmission of results. But that didn't happen. So at what point are we definitely then going to test run that process and find out what's going to happen? They already did, you know, some of that in the Edo state elections. You know, and that's why, you know, there's a little bit of difference between the Edo state elections and Anambra elections. It's just disappointing, you know, that Anambra turned out this way because I felt like Edo and Oshu were, you know, pretty smooth. You know, there weren't a lot of issues with the Edo and Oshun elections and I thought that Anambra would be, you know, even better than those two. But, you know, seeing the way that Anambra turned out is a little disappointing. But I will still give kudos to Ainec, not because they've done, you know, anything exceptional, you know, mind-blowing, you know, the first time we've seen this in the world, but simply because, you know, it's still a work in progress, you know, and that's where I want to stay. And there's still a work in progress, the electoral process, you know, and fine-tuning it here and there. It's still a work in progress. We are way behind, you know, compared to other countries in the world. But, you know, seeing the way that things move in Nigeria, it's still a work in progress. Eventually we will, you know, get to a place where we can now vote electronically, hopefully. But, you know, until we get there, you know, let's continue to tweak here and there and fine-tune here and there. It just shouldn't take this much time. I'm thinking that we shouldn't be jumping. It's like you have a child. You can't just start having your tits or start talking. You have to start talking. There's a process. So I'm thinking that we're just jumping. We're just jumping from stage one to about stage three or stage four. Right. So I don't necessarily agree, because I get the point that you've made with regards it wouldn't stop vote-buying, you know. And all the practices. Yes, you know, I get that. You know, but if you also notice that in Anambra, yes, you know, the allegations of vote-buying, but there's also, you know, videos that, you know, showed people rejecting money, you know, being given to them by voters. Sadly. And this is, you know, also, you know, one part, you know, that should be mentioned. And I think it was in a report by one of the electoral bodies, a situation room, I believe, you know, that mentioned that the vote-buying, you know, that we see, we saw in Anambra elections was not in the presence of security agents. Policemen and the likes were there when people were buying and selling votes, which should be illegal. And so it's not just, I mean, there's so much, you know, that still needs to be, so, so, so much that still needs to be done with regards to process. We also mentioned, you know, in the course of our discussions that, you know, polling units were open on time. Electoral officers didn't get to the polling units on time. There are places where there were also issues with transporting, you know, election materials and all of that, which is embarrassing. And those are things that, you know, we should have dealt with as early as 1999 and then moved away from. But we're still dealing with them in 2021. So there's still a lot. And I agree with you that there's still so much that needs to be done and it feels like we're jumping the gun. But as we move forward, you know, as we get closer to 2023, I hope, you know, that the electoral body understands that these lapses cannot be permitted again. We cannot keep discussing these very, very flimsy things in 2023 and they do better. So I'm just trying to remember, does this particular parable that says if you want to eat like a dog or maybe a dog or go to something, you have to eat it very well. My point here is if we want to, I don't remember which of the animals, but my point here is this. If we want to... I think it says if you want to... Exactly. So that's the point. And I'll say talking about eating a dog or a lion. Now, my point now is this. If we want to introduce technology, you know, in our elections to help strengthen the entire process of our elections, it's important that we do it from start to finish. I don't think we should just wake up and say, okay, at this point during the registration or accreditation, we introduce a component of it. There's online registration. I'm just saying there's a component. Let's just be ready and say we want to have the elections entirely, an electronic election. So from start to finish, from the registration process, to the voting, to accreditation, to the casting of vote and collision and everything, I'm thinking that we should... That's what I'm thinking. That's my thought. Of course, why are your nascent democracies still getting there? It's a work in progress. Of course. Even the online registration still has its challenges. Even the collection of PVC, there's still a lot of those challenges, even as much as they've tried to make online registration possible. So it's a work in progress. They will still continue to tweak here and there. I would say I wish that they would be faster with the tweaking process, instead of taking four years to make a new law. It shouldn't take that long. Every... We have four years before the next election. You should be able to do whatever checks and balances, dot whatever i's, cross whatever t's, in four years. It's enough time. Absolutely. And so it's a work in progress. Let's give them a little round of applause for this one. The National Assembly and INEC. Let's see what changes in 2023. Also from the National Assembly, there is a bill against unsolicited messages from loan sharks. This one's very interesting. I think it was sponsored by Akin Alabi in the House of Rebs. He basically took complaints of many Nigerians. I've received a couple of those phone calls. Your friend, Oye Tunde, some random name that I've never heard of in my life. They say your friend, Oye Tunde Baba Lola Lawal, is owing... Took a loan from some loan shark. And they want... The number policy on my phone, it's an 01 something something number. And then there's the ones that they send you text messages, telling you that you should tell some name, that you have no idea who this person, who this person actually exists, that she's come and paid back his loan that he took some time ago. And sometimes they look at his number, and they're like, I don't even have his number if I... Who is this person? Akin Alabi is saying that these are tactics... I don't have my hat for him. That loan sharks are using... They're using shaming tactics in order to get their monies back from Nigerians who have taken loans from them. Like I said, I've experienced it. And I understand. And he also mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial crisis that went across the world, and here in Nigeria, a lot of Nigerians had to seek loans here and there because they needed to survive. And so in order to get their monies back from these persons who took loans, the loan sharks have started using every tactic whatsoever, including naming and shaming some of these people who took loans. You know, just like you said, you've experienced it. I've also experienced it. And at first, I had this particular experience. I'm not going to mention the name. And then I really thought that, oh my God, so this lady is a fraudulent person because the text message is saying, oh, XYZ is a fraudulent person. Do you know the person personally? This particular person, I know. So because I had this... You know how you have these names? You could probably have a name like two names, maybe Kunli or Adi Kunli or all of that. So you could have like three Adi Kunli's on your phone. And especially if you have not, you know, put a particular different... You don't put any specific to differentiate. And so in a moment, I'm like, oh my God, she is fraudulent. You know, so I tried to reach out. It was later on, I understood what it was about. But I'm thinking that it's a good one because it's really disturbing. First of all, I wasn't contacted. When these persons go ahead to, you know, take this loan, no one told me. Now, you know the thing with having to write your CV and all of that, you probably have to tell whoever you're going to use as your referral or your reference as, okay, I'm going to be using you as X, Y, Z, blah, blah, blah. So you don't do that without your consent. And a lot of these specimens, they probably could be your reference. In some cases, you know the specimen. In most cases, you don't know them. Now, without the fact that... I totally support it because when these people go ahead to take this loan, I am not in the know. No one seeks my consent. So how come I've been disturbed at the end of the day when they're not paying? And I think that if you take some money, you should pay them. They should devise a means rather than, you know, because I feel like this is actually disturbing. It is constituting a nuisance. So you turn off your phone and you see a lot of messages very annoying and scary. Like to me, you know, I said that I was really scared. And I said, oh my God, so she's a fraudulent person. It doesn't make her fraudulent person. No, I don't know because I saw the text. They're saying that you have to rip off the person because she's dubious, she's fraudulent. No, you know, so all of those descriptions. And then he said that making me very scared up until I started understanding what this is about. Really. So I think that is really, really wrong. Yes, it's okay to say if you put out monies, if you give somebody money as a loan, there should be a way to collect it. But that means of, you know, cohesing people and then putting out all of those messages without the consent of the people is really disturbing and stressful. We're going through a lot, you know, as a country. I mean, I say that all the time. Being in Nigeria is a lot of work. I mean, then you now live in Lagos, for instance. That's so much work already. I mean, we don't need all of that stress. So yes, I totally endorse this one. And I doff my hat for I came. Someone said, you know, every Nigerian, living in Nigeria, you know, you need to be prayerful. Everybody's prayerful. Even atheists every now and then will say, you know... I don't know about that one. You'll call on God, you know, and because of what we have to deal with. You know, but those are, you know, our top trend stories this morning. There's, of course, also stories from Sheikh Ahmad Gumi who is saying that bandits, you know, would require land compensation in order to end killings. Of course, it's one of the things that made the news yesterday and, of course, created a lot of conversations yesterday. A lot of people mostly upset and angry, you know, that we're still hearing these type of statements about Sheikh Ahmad Gumi. Myself, you know, inclusive, because I've, you know, repeatedly said that Nigeria needs to take a stand and make it stand clear with regards to what it's, you know, it feels concerning banditry. It cannot be treating bandits different from the way it's treating ESN or treating any other group across the country. You cannot, you know, continue to hear these things from Sheikh Ahmad Gumi. If he, you know, truly believes that he loves Nigeria then there should be a completely different narrative that comes from him as a religious scholar. You know, and it almost seems like he, you know, is speaking on behalf of the bandits or negotiating for bandits, you know, to the federal government. Oh, spokesperson of the bandits. And that's really what it seems like. I'm not sure what this type of requirements are, whereas you hear this type of requirements, except in Nigeria, it's the only country that you hear bandits, terrorists, actually, making this type of requirements from government, saying that they need land or they need money or some very, very ridiculous things. You know, at some point, this particular time, sometime this year, I read a particular report about, you know, the bandits saying they would like to have a negotiation with the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I mean, I have to emphasize that. The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And then I started wondering, where is this gods coming from? I mean, who, how dare you dare the president to have a negotiation that we're not going to bulge until the president. They have a one-on-one and a face-to-face with the president. I mean, if you look at that in developed climes, how do you even explain it? I felt insulted, of course, on behalf of the president. But it goes to show that we constantly have laws. Let's talk about what mother is. The Constitution spells it out clearly. Killing is killing. Mother is mother. And so you have this group of persons who engage in this criminal act. And then at the end of the day, what is the law? What does the law say about this act and activities? How come we have not had these persons arrested? How come, you know, we seem to have a different body language when it has to do with this sector of persons? It costs a lot of consent. And it constantly encourages all of these conspiracy theories that you have. Now, I have to, on this particular show, you know, we've had to clarify the fact that the president does not hate, you know, some part of the country. Because that's what he looks like. So if you treat some people, I mean, let's look at iPop, for instance. iPop recently called of the Citadome Order. And that's a terrorist group. Terrorists do not even look at the... It's not a terrorist group. They have been proscribed as... Of course. So you see where I'm coming from. Now, if you look at the characteristics of terrorist group over time, the archaiders and what have you, they don't operate in this particular, you know, pattern. That is not their mode of operation. So it costs for a lot of consent and worry. And it allows for all of the speculations and things, you know, thoughts that people would hold. Saying that, you know, the body language of Mr. President, the body language of those who should be responsible for ensuring that this is a crime. It should be treated as a crime that should face justice. It's different. This is the same bandit group that the National Assembly has been begging President Muhammadabad to declare terrorism. They're the ones that are seeking land. I don't know where they're going to get the land or what they're going to do. We need to go. We'll take a short break while we come back. We're moving into a newspaper review off the press where we get a quick review of the major stories making headlines across Nigeria this morning. We'll be back.